Birmingham City Centre

Brindleyplace

Exit the ICC mall and cross the canal on the footbridge directly in front of you.

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Alternative route without steps: from Centenary Square, take Broad Street and rejoin the route at Gas Street Basin. Or, exit the ICC mall and follow signs to the right for crossing the canal.

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Brindleyplace is named after James Brindley, the engineer who designed and built the Birmingham Canal and others in England.

Optional detour: if you continue straight on after crossing the bridge, you can explore Brindleyplace. (Follow signs from the ICC for disabled access to Brindleyplace.)

This whole area was redeveloped, bringing a new lease of life to the canal area. Take a look at the impressive modern architecture, the Sea Life Centre and the Ikon Gallery.

If you're out in Birmingham at night, especially along the canals, you might see bats. The canals, with their long stretches of straight waterways, act like 'motorways' for animals and birds. Bats roost all over Birmingham city centre: in cellars and roofs, in canal tunnels, in old trees.

Experts identify what sorts of bats live in Birmingham with a 'bat detector'. It works by detecting different frequencies of sound wave that the bats emit. There are known to be nine species of bat here - and all of the UK bat species are protected. It's the roosts which are protected and bats like to return to the same areas. Even if there are no bats in a building, if it's a roost, developers have to be very careful not to disturb it.

Broad Street Tunnel

Turn left after crossing the footbridge and walk along the canal - you need to be on the other side - use the bridge to cross over. Mind your head as you go through the tunnel!

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